Writing for the website Deadspin, Kluwe claimed that his release from the team in May 2013 was due to his activism for same-sex marriage rights. Kluwe punted for the Vikings from 2005 to 2012, and on Dec. 15 attended the next-to-last Vikings game at the Metrodome to be honored as a member of the All-Metrodome team.

Kluwe accused Priefer in the article of being homophobic and wrote that one of the reasons for writing it was to “make sure that Mike Priefer never holds a coaching position again in the NFL, and ideally never coaches at any level.”

“Throughout the months of September, October, and November (2012), Minnesota Vikings special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer would use homophobic language in my presence ... He would ask me if I had written any letters defending 'the gays' recently and denounce as disgusting the idea that two men would kiss, and he would constantly belittle or demean any idea of acceptance or tolerance,” Kluwe wrote in the article.

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“I tried to laugh these off while also responding with the notion that perhaps they were human beings who deserved to be treated as human beings. Mike Priefer also said on multiple occasions that I would wind up burning in hell with the gays, and that the only truth was Jesus Christ and the Bible. He said all this in a semi-joking tone, and I responded in kind, as I felt a yelling match with my coach over human rights would greatly diminish my chances of remaining employed.”

Kluwe was waived after the Vikings drafted punter Jeff Locke last April in the fifth round. In his article, Kluwe points blame at Spielman and Frazier for his release.

“It's my belief, based on everything that happened over the course of 2012, that I was fired by Mike Priefer, a bigot who didn't agree with the cause I was working for, and two cowards, Leslie Frazier and Rick Spielman, both of whom knew I was a good punter and would remain a good punter for the foreseeable future, as my numbers over my eight-year career had shown, but who lacked the fortitude to disagree with Mike Priefer on a touchy subject matter,” Kluwe wrote.

Messages left Thursday for Kluwe, Frazier, Spielman and a Vikings publicist were not immediately returned.

Kluwe wrote he had been approached in the summer of 2012 by Minnesotans for Marriage Equality, and asked if he would be interested in working to help defeat the Minnesota Gay Marriage Amendment. The amendment since has been voted down and same-sex marriage is now legal in the state.

After he became vocal on the subject, Kluwe wrote that Frazier, who was fired Monday as Vikings coach, told him on Sept. 8, 2012, he “needed to be quiet, and stop speaking out on this stuff.” But Kluwe wrote that Frazier later backed off when he recounted to the coach an incident involving Vikings owner Zygi Wilf.

Kluwe wrote that on Sept. 9, Wilf told him, “Chris, I'm proud of what you've done. Please feel free to keep speaking out. I just came from my son's best friend's wedding to his partner in New York, and it was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.” Kluwe then wrote that Frazier told him on Sept. 10, “Well, he writes the checks. It looks like I've been overruled.”

Kluwe wrote that after he sent some tweets out in February 2013 regarding Pope Benedict XVI stepping down, he received a message from a number that he later learned belonged to Spielman that read, “Please fly under radar please.”

Kluwe wrote that after Locke was drafted that Spielman told him the move “was solely about competition and had nothing to do with my views.” Kluwe wrote he did “not believe he was telling the truth.”

When Kluwe learned of his release in May 2013, he wrote that Spielman “thanked me for the great work I had done for the Vikings, and also said he would tell other teams how professionally and competently I had executed my duties.”

Kluwe averaged 44.4 yards per punt in his eight seasons with the Vikings. Locke averaged 44.2 in his rookie year.

Kluwe, 32, wrote he believes he still has the ability to punt in the NFL, and had several tryouts during the 2013 season. However, he wrote he believes the publication of the article will end his NFL career.

“It's clear to me that no matter how much I want to prove I can play, I will no longer punt in the NFL, especially now that I've written this account,” Kluwe wrote. “Whether it's my age, my minimum veteran salary, my habit of speaking my mind, or (most likely) a combination of all three, my time as a football player is done.”